Plans to demolish the Devoncourt Hotel at Douglas Avenue are 'recommended for approval' by councillors next week.

East Devon District Council will hold its planning committee meeting on Tuesday, April 23, where councillors are recommend to approve plans for a 61-bed hotel.

The document says that despite local opposition to the application, the benefits 'outweigh the harm'.

The agenda document also says that the new building will create local jobs in the area, and also provide 15 affordable houses in the area. 

Plans for the hotel include demolishing the existing four-storey hotel and replace it with three apartment buildings housing 36 apartments at a similar height, these would be known as the 'northern apartments', a further apartment block containing 15 apartments known as 'southern apartments' would be constructed in the existing landscaped gardens of the Devoncourt, together with a new 65 bedroom hotel with gym and restaurant by the Mear Lane car park.

The loss of holiday accommodation is a key consideration, however this application proposes to replace the existing offer with something different. Whilst a different holiday offer than currently exists. To ensure that the holiday accommodation provision retains facilities for Exmouth.

One condition is that local trades have to be used to build the hotel and demolish it. And then local people must be employed to run the hotel and staff it. Another is that 'improvements' have be made to the appearance of the site, particularly its frontage onto Douglas Avenue

Access to this new hotel will be via Maer Lane car park, with parking available in the car park. The proposals are to demolish the existing structures and replace these with a combination of apartments and a hotel within the grounds of the Devoncourt.

Owners of the timeshare on Devoncourt ran out in 2014, and the owners are now looking at other options for the site.

The application has already had 172 comments from residents, 170 of these are opposing the plans on the EDDC planning portal.